Comparative study demonstrates that combining a standard chest tube with a pigtail catheter reduces pain and hospital stay in lobectomy patients, suggesting improved recovery.
Key Points
Compare the clinical efficacy, pain outcomes, and complication profiles of three chest drainage strategies after thoracoscopic lobectomy in patients with complete pleural adhesions.
Analyzed 90 patients with complete pleural adhesions undergoing thoracoscopic lobectomy between January 2022 and December 2024.
Categorized patients into three drainage cohorts: dual 28 F silicone tubes (Group A, n=23), single 28 F silicone tube (Group B, n=39), or a 28 F silicone tube combined with an 8 F pigtail catheter (Group C, n=28).
Total drainage tube duration was shorter in Groups B and C compared to Group A (6.36 and 6.18 vs. 10.00 days, p=0.005), with Group C achieving the shortest 28 F tube duration (4.36 vs. 6.36 and 10.00 days, p<0.001) and hospital stay (6.29 vs. 7.51 and 11.13 days, p=0.004).
Groups C and B showed significantly lower VAS pain scores at 24 hours (2.36 and 2.90 vs. 4.78, p=0.002) and required fewer analgesic injections (0.39 and 0.95 vs. 1.39, p=0.045) than Group A.
The rate of re-catheterization was significantly higher in Group B (17.9%) than in Group A (4.3%) and Group C (0.0%, p=0.026).